RUMORS of Apple entering the metaverse and launching an AR headset are circulating as the company looks set to challenge Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.

According to analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities, Apple’s AR headset will be released in the first quarter of 2023.

The analyst said the company expect to sell between 1 and 1.5 million units of the new headset in just the first year of it being on the market.

The headset will reportedly come with a powerful chip developed in-house by Apple which will improve the motion detection and overall experience of AR.

The AR headset will have more than 10 sensors and could cost up to $3,000.

Sign up to get our weekly and monthly metaverse news round-ups direct to your inbox

Apple CEO Tim Cook has steered more towards augmented reality over fully immersive virtual reality.

AR uses a real-world setting while VR is completely virtual.

Tim Cook said: “There are clearly some cool niche things for VR. But it’s not profound in my view. AR is profound.”

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta are competing against the clock to develop their metaverse as other companies get hot on their tail.

Meta is so absorbed with the metaverse they canceled Facebook’s annual F8 conference.

Meta currently has $10billion invested in metaverse developments – five times what the company paid to buy the VR headset manufacturer Oculus.

Follow 24/7 Crypto on Twitter for the latest news and developments as they happen